Not So Different
by galaxy guardian
Summary: Inuyasha has a dream that causes him to doubt the ties between him and everyone else because he's a 'halfbreed'. Can Kagome help him deal with his uncertainties?


Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha as much as I hate admitting that fact

**A/N: **Enjoy the my little one-shot! OOCness may follow (It's a fanfiction after all!)

* * *

"Tainted half-breed!"

_Stop it..._

"Filthy half-demon!"

_Stop it..._

"You don't belong here! You don't belong anywhere!"

_Stop it!_

"Get lost half-breed! No one wants you around!"

"STOP IT!" Inuyasha roared. Red started to swallow the gold of his eyes, his fangs began to lengthen, his claws grew longer, and jagged stripes appeared on his cheeks. "Stop it!" Snarling, he lashed out, smirking, satisfied, as his claws sliced through the people taunting him.

He saw only red, heard only the lust for blood pounding in his ears. He didn't flinch when men fell dead at his feet. He didn't cringe when women wept before their eyes glazed over in death. He didn't wince when children screamed in terror before they were slaughtered. They would pay! They would all pay! Not even the seal of the Tetsusaiga at his hip could stop him now!

"Inuyasha!"

His whirled around at the sound of his name with a fierce growl. Standing thirty yards from him, were five figures. Three humans, a cat demon, and a young fox demon. He growled again.

"Inuyasha!"

Baring his teeth, he spun on his heel and dashed towards them. The human woman dressed in black stepped forward.

"Miroku, protect Kagome and Shippo." She ordered. Holding the giant boomerang she used as her weapon, she jumped onto the fire cat's back. "Let's go Kirara."

"Be careful Sango!" Kagome called.

When Sango and Kirara were a good distance from the ground, the demon slayer pulled her weapon back. "HIRAIKOTSU!" With graceful skill, she threw it forward. The air made a swishing sound as the weapon sliced through the wind.

Inuyasha batted the Hiraikotsu away as if it were made of rice-paper instead of demon bone. The boomerang went flying before it sunk a good six inches into the ground a ways away.

Letting out a bone-chilling battle cry, Inuyasha bent his knees and then, with a powerful thrust of his legs, jumped up into the air. Drawing his hands back, he let out another deadly bellow. His claws darted forward and he bared his teeth in a beastly grin when he felt them score across her stomach, sinking slightly into the soft flesh of her belly.

He drifted down towards the ground, kicked off of one of the houses of the village and shot straight for Sango and Kirara. Pulling back a fist, he slammed it into the fire cat's ribs, laughed when he heard a crunching sound, and watched, satisfactory, as both slayer and feline crashed into the ground. Neither of them got up.

"Sango!" Miroku called. Kagome's and Shippo's cries followed soon after. Their disheveled voices attracted Inuyasha's attention.

Landing in a crouch, Inuyasha straightened to his full height and flexed his blood-covered claws. Flashing them a maniacal grin he watched them with red and teal colored eyes.

Miroku began to unwind the prayer beads from his right hand. "Get back you two," He instructed while he placed himself between them and the half-demon.

Kagome latched onto the sleeve of his robes. "You can't use the Wind Tunnel on him Miroku! You can't kill him!"

The beads were almost completely unwound from the monk's wrist. He didn't answer her.

"Miroku!"

"Get...BACK Kagome!" He said a little more coldly than he intended. "I can't let him hurt you two as well."

Kagome clutched Shippo more tightly to her chest. With a nod, she took a few steps back. "Be careful," she said, barely above a whisper.

Removing the beads completely from his arm, Miroku turned all of his attention onto Inuyasha. With his right hand clutched tightly at his side, his eyes narrowed. "Inuyasha!" He called, "that's enough! Wake up and open your eyes to reality! I don't want to fight you!"

Inuyasha held up his hand and flexed his claws once more. His tongue darted out and he traced the tip of it over his finger, licking the blood. "Wake up Miroku...this is reality!"

Without another moment's hesitation, Miroku threw his right hand forward. "WIND TUNNEL!" His left hand wrapped tightly around his right wrist for support. He briefly closed his eyes and chanted a short prayer under his breath. Snapping his eyes open, he called out to him. "You leave me no choice Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha planted his feet into the ground a shoulder-width apart. His silver hair whipped around his face under the force of the wind tunnel and his fire rat robes twisted around his body. He snarled when he felt himself slip, his feet leaving a trail in the dirt. Narrowing his eyes, he crouched down and then leapt into the air and out of the range of the wind tunnel; and before the monk could react, he was upon him.

Racking his claws down Miroku's chest, Inuyasha kicked him away with such much force that he flew through the air, bounced a few times, and then slid to a stop and was motionless. Turning his attention away from the unconscious human, Inuyasha focused on the girl and the young demon in her hold. "Three down, two to go."

Kagome took a step back. "I-Inuyasha! Stop this! We're your friends!"

Inuyasha ignored her as he slowly started to approach them.

With no other ideas, Kagome acted on the first thing that came to mind. "SIT BOY!"

The rosary hanging around his neck glowed before pulling him face-first into the ground. Inuyasha waited for the spell to pass before pushing himself to his feet and approaching them again.

"SIT!" Again, he fell and again he climbed to his feet and kept walking towards her.

"Why isn't he back to normal Kagome?" Shippo asked in a panic. "He's supposed to be back to normal!"

"I don't know!" Kagome cried. "SIT!"

Climbing to his feet Inuyasha watched her with emotionless eyes and smiled his bloodthirsty smile. "Prepare to meet your end, wench."

"Inuyasha, no!" Kagome cried. Spinning on her heel, she turned to run away. She didn't get very far when Inuyasha tackled her to the ground. Shippo tumbled out of her arms and before she could even attempt to roll away, Inuyasha had the collar of her uniform and was yanking her roughly to her feet.

"You leave Kagome alone!" Shippo shouted. Darting towards Inuyasha, Shippo jumped up as if to kick the half-demon away.

Without even blinking, Inuyasha backhanded the kitsune into a nearby wall. Shippo's head hit the wood hard and then he saw no more.

"Shippo!" Kagome screamed.

Inuyasha gave her a rough shake. "Four down, one to go."

Kagome stared up into Inuyasha's face with wide eyes, full of fear. "Inuyasha! Wake up!"

"I'm wide awake," he said in a demonic voice.

Kagome gasped when Inuyasha's free hand shot forward and wrapped around her neck. With demonic strength, he lifted her off of her feet and watched, smirking, as she clawed at his fingers. Her feet swung back and forth as she struggled against his hold and she gasped for each and every breath.

"I-nu-ya-sha. It's me. It's Kagome!" She managed to wheeze.

His hold on her throat tightened as he pulled back his other hand, ready to deal the killing blow. "I know."

She screamed...and he saw a flash of red; Kagome's blood.

* * *

Inuyasha jerked awake and nearly fell out of the tree he'd been resting in. His ears were flattened to his skull, his breath came in heavy gasps, and his skin was glistening with a thin layer of sweat.

Blinded with panic, Inuyasha leapt out of the tree and into the center of the camp. Glancing around, he breathed a small breath of relief. Sango was sleeping soundly with Kirara curled up in the curve of her back. Miroku wasn't far away and Kagome was sleeping peacefully with Shippo tucked up against her body.

Silently and cautiously, Inuyasha inched over to the dreaming miko and crouched down next to her, peering into her sleeping face. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Good, she was having a happy dream.

Carefully, he reached towards her to smooth back the strand of hair from her face, but when he caught sight of his claws, he snatched his hand back as if he'd been burned.

Holding both hands out in front of him, he examined them. Just seconds before, these very hands had been bathed in Kagome's blood. Maybe not for real, but it was real enough to him. "I'm...a monster." Inuyasha said quietly to himself. He jumped to his feet, but froze after the motion.

One of his ears twitched in Kagome's direction. She was pushing herself up into a sitting position and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Inu–Inuyasha? Is something wrong?"

"No," he said a little too quickly, "go back to sleep Kagome. There's nothing to worry about." Without another word, Inuyasha whirled around and walked off.

Kagome gave him five minutes before she carefully climbed out of her sleeping bag so as not to disturb a sleeping Shippo, and tip-toed out of camp and after Inuyasha.

She found him standing at the edge of a hill with his back to her. She could tell by the way he held himself and by the way that his head was tilted up towards the sky, that he was in deep thought. Taking a deep breath, she covered the distance between them and stood at his side. Looking down, the river at the bottom of the slope, reflected the light of the crescent moon, as it lazily flowed along.

"I thought I told you to go back to sleep," Inuyasha said, keeping his eyes trained on the sky.

Kagome looked down at her feet and wrung her hands nervously in front of her. "I know, but I was worried."

"Like I said," he said gruffly, "there's nothing to worry about."

"You and I both know that's not true," she said gently, "what happened?"

"Nothing," he answered defiantly.

"Inuyasha..." she warned, drawing out the last syllable of his name. Inuyasha resisted the urge to step away from her. He _seriously_ hated it when she used that tone with him. At least she wasn't crying...that, he really couldn't stand.

"It was just a bad dream. That's it." Crossing his legs, he sunk down until he was sitting. Folding his arms into his sleeves, he watched out of the corner of his eye as Kagome sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around her knees out of habit.

"What was it about?"

"Nothing. It's no big deal."

"From the sound of it," she began thoughtfully, "it is a big deal. I can tell that it's really bothering you."

Inuyasha glanced at her, but when she turned her head to look at him, he snapped his gaze away. She knew him all too well. It should be the _other_ way around. _He_ should be interrogating _her_ while _she _tried to pretend that everything was fine. "If I tell you, you'll only think that I'm a monster." He murmured.

"A monster?" Kagome was taken aback. "You mean to say that after all this time we've known each other, you'd believe I would think you're a monster because of a _nightmare_? Do you really think so little of me?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened and his ears flattened at the hurt tone she fought to keep out of her voice. "No! Of course not!"

Kagome smiled a little. "Then tell me. It can't really be that bad."

Why that sneaky little wench! Who knew she could be so manipulative? Then again, he probably had hurt her feelings; even if it he hadn't hurt her as much as she'd pretended. Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a huff, he turned towards her slightly.

"It...it started off with me surrounded by the people of a village," he began awkwardly, "and...and they were insulting me...my heritage and I just lost it. Even though I had the Tetsusaiga, my demon blood took full control and I lashed out. I killed everyone. Men, women, children. You name them, I killed them. And then, you and everyone else showed up." Inuyasha paused here.

Kagome watched him with silent patience, waiting for him to continue when he was ready. She wanted to reach out and cover his hand with hers, but she didn't think it was the right time for that.

"First Sango and Kirara confronted me and before I knew it...they were down and out. Then it was Miroku...then Shippo and then you." Pausing in his storytelling, he looked over at her, making eye contact. Kagome's heart dropped at the lost and suffering look in his eyes. Could the dream have really been that bad?

"Then what happened?" Kagome asked gently.

Looking away, Inuyasha swallowed the lump forming in his throat and continued. "You tried to get me back to normal by sitting me, but it didn't work and I...kept coming after you. When you ran, I tackled you to the ground and pulled you to your feet. Shippo tried to help you, but I just ended up hurting him too. And then...I ki...I kil..."

"You...what?" She murmured.

He looked at her again. "Killed you. I knew who you were, I knew what I was doing, and I killed you." Inuyasha jumped up to his feet. "Everyone has always shunned and ignored half-demons because we're so different." Glaring at the sky, he continued bitterly. "Who would have thought that we...that I should be feared instead."

Kagome climbed to her feet. "Inuyash—."

"Don't." He interrupted abruptly. "Just...don't. If I'm dreaming about it, that has to mean something right?" He didn't give her a chance to answer. "You'd probably be safer off without me. All of you." Turning, he dashed off.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called, taking off after him, "wait!" Caught off guard at his abrupt departure and scared that she'd lose him, she did the first thing that came to mind. "SIT BOY!" You know, now that she thought about it, she said the "s-word" a little more than she realized. She shook her head. She'd think more on that topic later.

When she reached him, she smoothed her skirt down and crouched down next to him. "I'm sorry Inuyasha, I didn't want you to run off."

Peeling himself away from the ground, Inuyasha didn't bother to get to his feet again. Crossing his legs half-heartedly, he stared at the small crater his body had made.

"Inuyasha?" She jumped back when he jerked his shoulder away from her after she laid a comforting hand on it. "Look at me." When he still refused to look at her, she took his chin in her hand and turned his head to face her. "God dammit Inuyasha! I said look at me!"

Too surprised to pull away from her, he stared at her with wide eyes. Kagome never cursed! And when her chocolate brown eyes locked onto his, he figured that he might as well have been chained in that very position. With the look she was giving him, there was no way he'd ever be able to look away.

"It was a dream. That's it. Just a dream," she said firmly, still holding his chin gently but securely in her hand, "I've had dreams where I get eaten by my math textbook. That doesn't mean that it's going to happen."

"Well yeah, but—,"

Kagome silenced him with a finger on his lips. "But nothing. It was _just _a nightmare. There's no way that you'd ever turn on us whether you're human, demon, or half-demon. You'd kill yourself first before you ever hurt any of us and you know it!"

"Yeah, but this is different," he said, pulling away from her finger just enough so that his lips weren't touching her when he spoke, "I'm different. Your book doesn't have the power to eat you, but I _do_ have the power to hurt people."

"But _nothing_!" Kagome said, half teasingly. "Yes, you're different. But you're not _that _different. I can prove it to you."

He gave her a blank look.

Sighing, Kagome held her hands out, palms facing him. "What do you see?"

"Huh?"

"What do you see?" She repeated, leaning forward a little.

"Hands?"

"Exactly." Reaching for his hands, she held them up. "And so do I." Slipping her hands into his, she straightened her fingers so that they were palm to palm. "See? We're not different at all."

Inuyasha stared at their hands, his expression unreadable. He remained in that position for a long while before he looked up at her and smiled a very small smile. Kagome returned it.

She gasped in surprise when his hands left hers and then snaked around her to pull her into a warm embrace.

"Thank you Kagome," he murmured into her hair.

Too stunned to answer, she remained still in his hold. A second later, she leaned into him and returned the hug. "You're welcome," she whispered into the shoulder of his robe. They stayed like that for awhile until Inuyasha rested his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back gently so he could look her in the eyes.

"It's getting late."

Kagome nodded. "Yeah."

Getting to his feet and pulling Kagome with him, Inuyasha looked around, feeling a little awkward. Clearing his throat, he continued. "You should go back to sleep or you'll be exhausted in the morning." He paused. "We have to hunt for the jewel shards after all."

Kagome smiled up at him. "Alright." Normally, she would have gotten mad, but that pause of his was proof enough that he was just hiding his concern. Making her way back to camp, she stopped and looked back when she noticed Inuyasha wasn't following. "Are you coming?"

"Eventually. You go on ahead. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay. Don't stay out here too long. It's hard to fall asleep without you around."

Inuyasha's head jerked up in her direction, a light blush covering his cheeks, but she'd already run off. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked up at the starts gleaming in the midnight sky he smiled a smirk-like smile. "Perhaps I'm not so different after all." And then he turned on his heel and headed back to camp after Kagome.

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**A/N:** The End! Please review if you think it was worthy...and feel free to point out mistakes. They help me improve on my writing.


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